Sean Adcock, 19, of Alexandra Road, South Shore, befriended his 15-year-old victim after they both attended sessions run by a youth advice service, Preston Crown Court was told.

Adcock invited the boy back to his bedsit following one of the meetings last year and sexual activity took place.

Afterwards the defendant warned his victim not to tell anyone of the encounter "as he would get into trouble ", prosecutor Fraser Livesey told the court.

Mr Livesey added that Adcock had a bottle of nitrate – or poppers – in his room and "allowed the complainant to use them at his own request".

The pair had left the meeting with other youngsters, but had then separated from the group before going to Adcock's bedsit.

Adcock admitted three charges of sexual activity with a child.

Jacob Dyer, defending, said in mitigation his client was only two-and-a-half years older than the complainant.

Background

He said: "He maintains he did not plan a sexual encounter, but that they continued their conversation after their meeting that day."

He added that Adcock had identified the victim as having a similar background to himself and felt they had "clicked."

Since the offences Adcock had lost his college place studying performing arts and had been living with his grandparents in Nuneaton.

Judge Christopher Cornwall said although Adcock had not held a formal supervisory role within the youth group, there was an element of breach of trust involved.

His actions had had a "very significant adverse effect".

But there was no evidence of intimidation and everything that took place had been consensual.

Referring to the victim, the judge said: "Nonetheless he is entitled to be protected from himself and the fact remains you knew he was under-age and that what was happening was profoundly wrong."

An order was also made disqualifying Adcock from working with children and banning him from having contact with children aged under 16 unless he is supervised.